Abirameswarar Temple

Abirameswarar Temple stands in Thiruvamathur, a village in Viluppuram district on the Chennai–Villupuram highway. Shiva is worshipped here as a lingam, and the temple is a Paadal Petra Sthalam, sung in the Tevaram by Appar. The village's name comes from a legend: cows, once hornless and harried by predators, prayed to Shiva and were given horns at this spot, aa being the Tamil word for cow. The lingam is depicted holding a cow's hooves.

The original shrine is believed to be Chola work, and Achyuta Deva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire raised the main temple. Inscriptions name Chola rulers including Rajaraja Chola I and Kulothunga Chola I, and the chieftain Rajanarayana Sambuvaraya is recorded as repairing the temple and reviving its festivals. The two-acre complex sits within concentric walls. The Shiva and goddess shrines face each other, and a small opening in the dividing wall is said to let the deities see one another, and a separate west-facing temple to Muthambigai stands opposite.